Embracing the Camera in Mansfield

So, I will admit that I have a bit of an obsession with the "Little House" book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I have had since I was a little girl, and my mom would sit on the front porch and read them to us. I always read my sister's copies, but I finally got my own set for Christmas. I am reading them now for the first time as an adult, and I am just as smitten with her humor and the stories of simpler times. I just love it. Because my husband is so darn sweet he agreed to take me back to her Mansfield home on our way down to visit my family this week. I have been so excited...as dorky as that may be.

My family had visited the home and museum when I was much younger, but I remembered very little about it. Some of the highlights of the museum for me included: 

Pa's fiddle

the gorgeous dresses that were made and worn by Laura in adulthood

the books, school slates, and jewelry box that are significant in the books

the sewing machine that Pa bought for Laura

the gorgeous photos of the family

You are not allowed to take photos inside any of the buildings, but I did get some shots of the adorable houses. After the museum we went down the road to the house that their daughter Rose had built for Laura and Almanzo. 

We did not go hear on our visit years ago, and this time around I fell in love with this house. I told Nicholas I would love to live there. I love the door, the french doors that lead into the living room, and the gorgeous stone [all from the farm at Rocky Ridge]. The house and the location is all just completely adorable.

If they would let me I would pack up and move to this house...seriously.

The other house is pretty adorable as well. It is the farmhouse that Laura and Almanzo built themselves. They lived there before moving into the rock house, and they later moved back to the farmhouse after selling a large portion of the farm. It is where Laura lived until her death in 1957 at the age of 90. 

After the tours, museum, and video we went to the bookstore where I got a couple of books that go into more detail of Laura's travels and many of her experiences that occurred after the books ended. I plan on purchasing the stories of Rose and the other older generations as well. I will definitely have quite a collection if I can find them all!

It was a great early birthday present, and I enjoyed it even more than I anticipated..and I think Nicholas even had fun too!

Be happy...and embrace the camera with The Anderson Crew! 

-Katie